The Years
by redex
Summary: SiriusRemus, JamesLily. Eventually. Drabbles on the highlights of the Marauders years, and beyond. [Discontinued]
1. I

Despite what the names suggest, they don't actually follow the years very closely. Mostly just drabbly things. It was between posting one really really really long piece, or a bunch of really really short ones. I like shortness better.

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**The Years **_by _**Red**

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He was really beautiful.

That was my first thought of him, when I met him.

Dark, violet-tinted eyes framed by raven's-wing black eyelashes and pale, perfect aristocratic skin. His hair was as long as a girl's, falling down the back of his rich robes.

He looked like a Slytherin, but he was in Griffondor.

In my house.

He was the first person to introduce himself to me, sitting down to the first supper in my first school.

You could see the eyes follow him, even though he was just a first year like me. Especially the Slytherin eyes. Everyone knew that he was supposed to be over there, at that green and silver table, but the hat had put him here. Gold and red, the colors of nobility and kings. He and James found each other easily enough. Concidering how often they were in detention, it was enevitable that they would meet at some point. And to commemorate their first meeting, they stole all the ink and quills from Professor Slughorn so he couldn't write them up.

Peter was their most devoted fan. I was their token perfect child. Hanger's-on of the great Black and Potter esq., bound for glory.

It was the most I could ever have hoped for. Good grades, friends who stood by you no matter what, safety from everyone but yourself...

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Commentu?  



	2. II

Oh look. It's another one of _those_... -whisperwhispersnickerglance-

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**II**

He had a quicksilver mind - it was inevitable that he figured it out eventually. James mentioned "every moon" and "Remus sick", and Sirius made the rest of the connections. All it took was James' cloak to follow me out of the portrait hole one divisive night, to see the nurse meet me and take me down under the tree.

Sirius mentioned werewolves quietly one day and his eyes told me he knew. I dropped everything and fled.

It was third year. I hadn't told them, the best friends who were supposed to know everything. Sirius, the pureblood Black, spending so much time, even touching a werewolf?

I charmed my bedhangings shut and didn't come out untill after nightfall, sneaking into the bathrooms for a long, hot bath.

I avoided them all day, and succeeded in putting off any direct confruntation for a while, but he soon cornered me outside, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"Remus."

It was that quiet, silky, calm voice that had seduced many an airheaded girl and charmed many a teacher. No wonder that the other two would send him ahead.

My stomach clenched. I tried to convince myself that it would have happened anyways, that I had always expected it, knew it couldn't last...

He touched my elbow when I wouldn't look at him, and I couldn't help jerking away, eyes wide, books clutched to my chest.

I could almost see myself reflected in his eyes. Plain brown hair, hazel eyes that like to change color, scar just across the nose and down my cheek, ragged robes...

I followed the scar with my fingers out of nervious habit. His eyes followed my movement, a small, hesitant smile on his lips.

"Remus," he repeated, stepping closer, eyes drifting fron my face and his hands brushinghair out of his face. Another nervious habit.

"We're not... disgusted with you or anything, you know. I mean, we thought you'd be able to trust us enough to tell us something like that, but we're not..."

When he was lying, Sirius was elequent. A reserved and soft voice, uttering meaningless nothings. But now, he was as awkward as any other teenage boy. My mind rested on the details to keep from getting too high hopes.

"You know I'm a werewolf and you still want to be friends?" I said stonily, trying not to believe him. "What kind of stupid git do you think I am? Do you have a bet going, or are James and Peter around the corner to laugh when I jump into your arms?"

He looked a little hurt and a little angry. His eyes narrowed and he chewed on his bottom lip for a moment.

"We still want to be friends with you. Of course, if you don't want to be friends with us, that's entirely up to you. God, Remus, why do you have to be so stubburn..."

He brushed a bit of hair out of his face irritably, glaring at me. A million thoughts ran though my head. I wanted to believe him, but knew I shouldn't, it would only end up worse in the end, getting my hopes up...

To hell with it. They were the first friends I ever made, to last this long.

"You haven't told anyone else?"

Sirius was quick to catch on to any thread of hope.

"We asked the nurse and she confirmed it, once we said we knew. Other than that, no one knows."

I sighed and started walking slowly back up towards the castle, letting him catch up to walk beside me, black robes bellowing in the wind as he bent down to look into my face.

"Remus? Are we... okay again?"

"Yes," I sighed weakly, turning away from him, trying to hide my smile. "Yes, Sirius, we are."


	3. III

Look, I skipped a few years!

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**III**

It wasn't untill fourth year that they got the animagus forms right, not untill fifth that we finished the Marauder's Map. Fourth year was also when James started pining after Lily.

It was fifth year that the Snape Incident happened, and I stopped talking to him for a good month or two, James wandering helplessly between us.

"Jim, I'm not apologizing _again_! He's being a complete prat about it, it's not like we did anything to _him..._"

They were standing behind the bookshelf in front of me, I could hear them.

"You know perfectly well, Sirius, that if anything had happened to Snape Moony would have been expelled, maybe even locked up. Stop acting like an idiot."

It was six weeks and three days since the actual incident. I wanted to forgive them, but every time I thought about it I wasn't any less angry. It always seemed as though Sirius would do it again, given the chance. Nevertheless, the full moon with out them had been the worst in a long, long time.

"I know you're upset about it, Pads, but unless you tell him, he'll never forgive you."

"And why should he? Fuck, I'm such a..."

"Go, look, just go, mate. The library is the best place for it, at least he won't yell at you or throw anything..."

There was a short silence as I stared down at my essay, words forgotten. He sounded... guilty. Angry, at himself. Fustrated.

"Remus?"

Hesitant. Scared.

I didn't look up.

"Well, um, you can just pretend I'm not here if you want to, then."

He made a strangled sort of laughing noise and half-got up out of his chair and then sat down again with a sigh, hand tangling in his hair.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I got carried away, and it was really really stupid of me. You could've... Well, a lot of things could have happened. And none of them are good. And I was acting just like my stupid parents, not caring who got hurt..."

His hand slid into my vision and carefully took my quill out of my unresisting fingers.

"Forgive me?"

I sighed and looked up, feeling very old and very tired. I rubbed the scar on my cheek, almost feeling the bags under my eyes. I hadn't been sleeping well since that time.

"I'm still mad at you," I said quietly, seeing his face fall and his hand shake as he buried his fingers in his hair and he looked down at the table. "But... I guess if you're convinced that it was the stupidest thing in the world you could ever do, and you know that you completely lost my trust after that..."

He seemed to crumple a little bit, and smiled weakly at me, looking up again.

"I know, I know, I know," he said, finally looking cheerful and releaved. "I promise I won't do anything stupid like that again. Moony, you know I'm sorry..."

He was making his puppy-dog face. "Cheer up, you know you love me, come on, smile..." it seemed to say.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, gathering up my books and the roll of parchment, caping my inkwell and gathering the quill that Sirius has stolen earlier while he got up and hastily grabbed my bag. I frowned at him, but he only smiled sheepishly.

"I'll carry your bag for you."

I was surprised at first, but then took it in stride.

"Of course you will, Padfoot."


	4. IV

Small changes made from the previous version, and the beginning of this all-important scene.

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**IV**

It was sixth year that Sirius renounced his family.

"Remus? James' in the fire for you. Don't stay long, you need your rest."

"Yeah, thanks Mum."

I dropped a bookmark into my copy of _What Really Happened: The Weird War between Muggles and Wizards_ and headed towards the kitchen fire.

Predictably, James' bespecticled face was hovering in greenish flames. When he spotted me, his face broke into a grin, but he looked oddly tired.

"Moony! You will _not_ guess what just happened."

"You managed to turn your entire house into a pink mountan of foam?"

He was not put off in the least.

"Nope, 'fraid not, mate. Sirius finally ran out on his parents!"

I dragged a chair up to the fire from the kitchen table.

"What happened?"

"He showed up a few hours ago on his motor bike, you know, the one he was fixing up, with his things."

I frowned. Sirius had been having rows with his parents for as long as I had known him, with escalating violence.

"He was pretty torn up, I'll tell ya," James went on, a little more sombre. "Pete freaked right out when he saw him in the front yard, you know how he gets about blood."

"Is he alright? Nothing really bad?"

James ruffled his hair and looked over an invisible shoulder before lowering his voice.

"He was up all last night, I think his parents might've... you know, done stuff to keep him from leaving."

James sighed and readjusted his glasses. "But Mum cleaned up most of him right enough. I think he's still in bed - wouldn't blame him."

Knowing him, he probably wasn't showing the worst of it. It was always a trial getting Sirius to the medical wing after a duel.

"Look, Moony, you definitely have to get over here as soon as possible. You can share the guest room with Sirius if you can convince your parents."

"Stay there, I'll be right back."

I got up immidiately, thoughts of Sirius running through my head as I went to find my mother. My father was out working, and it would have been easier to convince him, but I could probably convince her, the full moon wasn't for another two weeks...

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Yeah, short. Move on to the next chapter for the actual stuff! 


	5. V

I was very apprehensive about writing this chapter, which is how it took so long and sort of died on me. The problem is, I wrote a short fic on the same topic a while ago, so I don't feel like I can write it again... But well, whatever. It might not be up to snuff, but it has to be in here.

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**V**

"Sirius, can I come in?"

I knock hesitantly on the door. Hopefully I don't wake him, or...

"Moony? Yeah, come in."

I push the door open and peer around it, finding Sirius sitting on the bed, a large swath of bandages holding back his hair and covering his forehead. He's staring at his hands, which means he doesn't want to see my expression when I see him like this. He has a sensitive pride, for someone who hates it in his family.

"Did Mrs. Potter go overboard with the bandages then?" I ask quietly, sitting down on the bed beside him.

"It was bleeding a lot, but it wasn't that deep," he said quietly.

"James flooed me."

It's hard keeping my voice light when he's looking like this. He looks like I do after a moon, and that's not the way Sirius is meant to look. Broken, crushed like this.

I realize with a start that his hair is cut short, or at least, shorter. My fingers move of their own accord to catch the ends of a few strands, brushing his shoulder.

"You cut your hair..." I mumble stupidly, and he smiles a bit.

"Had Mrs. Potter do it. I was tired of dealing with it, and it was a mess..."

He hesitated. It was hard to worm these things out of him, always. Take the straight road and he'd just go around it, no matter how much he actually wanted to tell you.

"Have you had a bath yet?" I ask hesitantly, my hand dropping from his hair awkwardly when I realize it has lingered there too long.

"I washed off some, but I didn't want to in front of her," he says quietly.

"Well, if you want to go down and eat some supper, then maybe James and I could help you get undressed and into the bath?"

"I'm not an invalid," he snapped bitterly, standing and going to the door. "I can take a bath by myself."

I smile a little at his back as he opens the door and leaves the room. I can hear the cries from up here, Mrs. Potter threatening to coo herself to death over his state. Feeling my stomach protest at being left out, I head downstairs to eat.

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Yeah, more shortness. I'm apprehensive about this continuing, meaning, it probably won't. Sorry for those of you who liked it, mainly me-loves-Orli, Tanya J. Potter, Audrey G. Black, and LuH. We'll see what happens, but if I don't update within a few weeks you'll know it's dead. On the other hand, you could always go read my other fics... ; 


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